Community Engagement and Investment
Community Engagement
Management Approach
We understand the responsibility of being a major community employer, partner, and neighbour. Across Australia and Canada, we employ local people, provide competitive wages and benefits, use a mix of national and local suppliers, deliver critical infrastructure such as health and education facilities to support living standards in generations to come, and support economies more broadly
through taxes, royalties, and other government payments.
It is important to us to live among our local communities and understand expectations, share information and resolve issues as they arise. To do so, our responsible operations are guided by our Social Responsibility Performance standards and our local Community Relations Plans. They establish processes for working collaboratively with our communities to resolve issues and opportunities, making positive
contributions in the communities, maintaining regular communication mechanisms, and reporting.
We have established direct and regular two-way communication with communities at all of our operations using a variety of forums, tailored to local needs. Many maintain established community consultation committees, such as Cowal’s Community Environmental Monitoring & Consultative Committee, providing a regular forum for open discussion between Evolution, community representatives and other stakeholders about the environmental management and performance of the operations.
Performance
Stakeholder Perception Survey
Evolution’s aspiration to leave lasting positive legacies depends on our ability to identify, mitigate and avoid impacts while simultaneously
supporting sustainable development in our communities. A key mechanism to forecast emerging community impacts and opportunities is our biennial Stakeholder Perception Survey. It gauges stakeholder sentiment within local communities, focusing on reputation, quality of relationship and communication.
In FY23, we leveraged our most recent FY22 Survey wherein there was widespread acceptance of our activities and an overall Social Licence
to Operate score of 4.00 out of 5, placed at ‘high approval’, based off 96 in-depth interviews and a public participation poll with 153 participants. Findings supported us in leveraging our social capital and collaborating on projects to help increase community resilience, for example mental health initiatives in Red Lake and housing and childcare opportunities across our operations. We continue to collaborate
with local councils and industry bodies to enable regional solutions with economic viability.
Preparations have commenced for our sixth biennial Stakeholder Perception Survey in FY24.
Community Consultation
In FY23, Evolution’s Mt Rawdon Operation received public submissions on the draft Terms of Reference for the Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project’s Environmental Impact Study. This was just one instance where interested parties have been consulted and able to provide comment on the project. Community Information Forums, and further social and economic studies being undertaken to understand the
impacts and benefits of the Project on local communities, have enabled further stakeholder engagement and consultation.
The Environmental Impact Statement for Cowal Gold Operation’s Open Pit Continuation Project also went on Public Exhibition in late FY23.
Read more about our operations and communities undergoing consultation in the ESG Performance Data.
Community Investment
Management Approach
We have an established tradition of supporting innovative, targeted local initiatives in our neighbouring communities and have expanded support to nationally and globally relevant programs. Our community investment framework, comprising Shared Value Projects and sponsorships and donations, aims to address specific challenges faced by our local stakeholders and catalyse long-term socio-economic development in local communities.
To do so, we actively engage with our local stakeholders to understand local sentiments, needs, and aspirations for sustainable development, aim to strengthen local social and economic institutions, and build the skills and capabilities that diversify economic activity. Where possible we seek to be consistent and supportive of local development plans, and to leverage development resources and funding available through partnership with other bodies.
Our approach to community investment remains contextual and targeted for each operation, while upholding our values, Sustainability Principles, and principles presented below. We recognise an area of growth in storytelling and impact measurement, and currently focus on sharing community successes and lessons from these projects throughout the business and beyond.
Our Community Investment program is underpinned by four guiding principles:
Attraction and Retention
- Raise awareness and strengthen reputation of Evolution / mining sector in broader community
- Attract younger generation to careers with Evolution / the mining sector
- Grow Evolution’s brand as employer of choice
Build Community Advocacy
- Demonstrate industry relevance (now and future)
- Foster trust in mining/ gold sector
- Touch the hearts of our local, regional and national communities
- Grow understanding of modern mining practices
Enhance Outcomes for First Nation Groups and ATSI* people
- Demonstrate our respect and accountability for any disturbance
- Partnerships that build capacity for the future
- Develop/support actions to help close the gap: Health, Education, and Employment
Innovation and Industry Relevance
- Unlock value for Evolution / mining sector
- Support leading practice and new approaches in: Environment, Safety, Discovery, Operations, Technology, and Community outcomes
*Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
Performance
Direct Community Investment
Total direct community investment expenditures across our operations and Group office in FY23 were approximately $3.1 million, and supported the following impact areas:
Community Investment Breakdown FY23(%)
The following table highlights key Shared Value Projects at our operations:
| Shared Value Project | Operation | Purpose | Impact Area | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Galari Agricultural Company |
Cowal |
Strengthening a partnership with the Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation to address significant youth unemployment within the Lachlan Region, including young Indigenous men and women |
Arts, Culture and |
|
|
The Hope Project |
Mungari |
Aims to increase the
capacity of the local
Goldfields Women’s
Refuge and provide
additional housing to
women and children
escaping domestic
violence or at risk of
homelessness
|
Health and Wellbeing; Infrastructure
Capability;
Community
Resilience |
|
|
Kalarchibold |
Mungari |
A unique
portraiture-prize
event, run annually in
Kalgoorlie-Boulder
to celebrate the
contributions of local
legends, enhancing
tourism impacts
and community
connections
|
Arts, Culture
and Sport;
Local Economic
Development |
|
|
1770 Cultural Connection Immersion Festival |
Mt Rawdon |
Continuing
Evolution’s support
of the 1770 Cultural
Connections
Immersion Festival
for the third year in
2023
|
Arts, Culture and
Sport |
|
|
University of Queensland Research for COVID-19 immune response using gold |
Group |
Extending the
partnership with UQ
to adapt research on
gold nanoparticles to
assist with broader
medical impacts |
Health and Wellbeing;
Skills, Education
and Training;
Infrastructure
Capability |
|
Grievances
Management Approach
We have established grievance mechanisms at each of our project or operation and at Group through which the community or other stakeholders can express any concerns, issues or grievances about real or perceived actions by a project that cause them concern. The intent of the mechanism and procedure is to ensure issues and grievances are identified, managed, investigated, and remediated in a timely and consistent manner and in accordance with relevant policies and procedures.
The procedure assists us to:
- Facilitate early resolution of grievances
- Provide an open and responsive grievance management process
- Enable the Social Responsibility teams to resolve grievances in a consistent and effective manner
- Avoid issues escalating
- Identify risks and trends to inform strategies or work plans and identify improvement opportunities
- Meet compliance requirements
Performance
All operations have publicly accessible and secure grievance mechanisms in place to ensure that stakeholders can voice concerns about all Evolution activities and impacts and that these concerns are documented in a transparent, accountable manner and addressed in a timely fashion.
Refer to the ESG Performance Data for the total number of grievances filed through grievance mechanisms at the operations in FY23.
Local Employment
Management Approach
We make it a priority to employ our workforce from the local communities where we are located to ensure that the economic benefit of employment remains in the local communities. Due to the developed regions where we operate, we have been fortunate to have the ability to source our workforce locally and to build local capability to ensure they are fit for work. However, it is occasionally necessary to source specific skills, levels of experience, or technical expertise from abroad. This strategy helps build strong working relationships with
local communities.
Our performance in FY23 was 73% local employment across our operations.
Case Study
University of Queensland produces life saving early warning diagnostics using Evolution gold
Sponsorships and Donations
Our Sponsorship and Donation program is one of the ways we support organisations and initiatives that benefit our local communities.
Evolution particularly encourages members of the community to submit applications that provide outcomes in the areas of economic development, youth, health, education and environment. In addition to applications for financial assistance, we encourage organisations to submit applications for in kind support, material donations or volunteer assistance.
In order to submit a sponsorship or donation application, please read the guideline document and return a completed application form to the Community Relations team at your nearest site.
For applicants near our Red Lake site, sponsorship and donation requests come under the Red Lake program:
For applicants near our Mungari site, sponsorship and donation requests come under the Mungari Partnering Program:
For applicants near our Ernest Henry site, sponsorship and donation requests come under the Ernest Henry Partnering Program:
For all other sites, please use the following sponsorship and donation documents:
Social Responsibility
Indigenous Stakeholder Outcomes
Cultural Heritage
Sustainable Procurement
Modern Slavery and Human Rights
